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On-air next: Pictureplane, FuzZ and SPORTS

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From Denver, Travis Edgy's project Pictureplane is in rotation at Radio 1190. (Helen H. Richardson/ The Denver Post)

Locals Live on the Hill

Come join Radio 1190 Friday night at 7 at Buchanan's Coffee Pub on the Hill for another edition of Locals Live. Friday we will be hosting the ambient-folk duo Latlaus Sky.The show is free, so come enjoy great coffee and support your local music.

Longtime icon of the Denver DIY scene, Travis Egedy — also known as Pictureplane — moved to Brooklyn years ago but has kept up his production of strange and esoteric electronic dance music.

Recently signed to Anticon records, Edegy in known for fusing various genres such as dark wave, experimental house and '90s-era dance music. This year, Edegy released his seventh full-length album Technomancer — which listens as dark, fuzzy and weird. The opening track "Sick Machine" is a head-bobbing jam with hints of hip hop and synth pop. Though the track is dark and abrasive, the vocals are soft and emotional. This stark juxtaposition is interesting and unexpected, given the background and history of Pictureplane, but it works incredibly well. The ninth and title track "Technomancer" is an catchy stomp with strange, modulated vocals. It's reminiscent of a chopped and screwed '90s techno album found in a record store's alley Dumpster.

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The track conjures images of strobe lights over a DJ in the sweatiest, best warehouse rave in New York. Though Technomancer isn't the most challenging or mind-bending electronic album ever, it's still enjoyable.

Ty Segall and company is back with a second album in their Black Sabbath-influenced incarnation known as FuzZ. Instead of Segall ripping on guitar, he opted to take over the drum kit while Charlie Moothart stays on electric guitar and Chad Ubovich (from Meatbodies) on bass. The sound of II harkens back to the formative days of heavy metal with fuzzy, menacing guitar riffs and psychedelic rock-style vocals — and its production is much more clear than FuzZ's debut.

The 13-minute closer, "II," is a sprawling, riff-laden jam that meanders in various directions. Sadly, these ingredients sound too similar to Segall's own project — so it might make more sense a solo record. Additionally, the songs aren't as gripping as past FuzZ releases. With extended solo sections and longer song lengths, this makes the album a tad strenuous. Though it's not a bad album, more streamlined songwriting and more suitable production would have made II a stronger record.

Ty Segall and company make up FuzZ. (Denee Petracek / Courtesy photo)

Out of Ohio, a group of ex-college radio kids banned together and released music under the moniker SPORTS. On the debut album, All of Something, the group plays spunky indie pop at lightning-fast speeds. Much like Waxahatchee or Diet Cig, the feel of the album is simultaneously snarky and emotive. The trade off of male and female vocals makes each track dynamic and full of personality. SPORTS is very similar to the Denver group, Kissing Party, and the album feels like a DIY interpretation of Belle and Sebastian — or even a modern Beat Happening. Though SPORTS doesn't have the most original sound, the group's debut is enjoyable and shows massive potential for this young band.

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